In Need of a Mentor
by missnewvillage
Summary: When Marley gets suspended from the glee club she seeks counsel from her mentor, Santana and learns that the two really do have a lot in common and that Santana will always give her the best advice. Somewhat of a sequel to The Mentor, but can be read independently. Spoilers for 5x04.


Marley knew that she would be placed in the 'Katy Perry' group. She was soft, sweet and creative in a semi-introverted way. And she was okay with that. Eight months ago she would have had a panic attack at being told to think big and outside of the box, with crazy theatrics and unconventional costumes, but Marley welcomed the challenge. She kept her mind open and tried to think of ways to bring the Gaga to the performance. But it was harder than it seemed, and with Sam grabbing the reins and dictating everything from costumes to choreography Marley was close to breaking.

Yes, Marley had come a long way. But the truth was that she still struggled with her body issues. She wasn't sticking her fingers down her throat, but she also wasn't comfortable with exposing herself in public or in private. So when Sam demanded that she wear the seashell bikini, Marley knew she couldn't do it and be comfortable enough to not relapse with her eating disorder.

So she wore a dress and performed the number. It was more fun that she thought it would be. But of course her joy was short lived when Sam and the rest of the group started ganging up on her for not sticking with the mandated costume. She stuck up for herself, saying she wasn't comfortable enough with her body to wear something so revealing and that she was fine just the way she is, something that Lady Gaga herself always preaches. The next thing she knew, she was being suspended from the club for a week for being "selfish."

Marley sighed as she walked down the hallway. She was so torn. On the one hand she was glad she stood her ground. She did what she knew was best for her. But on the other hand she had never gotten suspended, let alone from the club that she loved so much. She needed someone's advice and honest, unbiased opinion.

She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her contacts, landing on the 'S' list and choosing the name before typing out a message.

**Hey Santana! It's Marley. I hope everything is going well in NY. Something happened in glee rehearsal today and I'd really appreciate your help. I know we haven't really spoken since Sectionals but you were such a great mentor and I know you'd give me the honest truth. So when you aren't busy give me a call. Thanks.**

The rest of the day didn't get any better for Marley. She got into a huge fight with Jake and it left her feeling uneasy. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear her phone ringing. Luckily she reached for it at the last second and answered the call without checking the caller id.

"Hello?"

"Well if it isn't my favorite sophomore," Santana's raspy voice rung out. "How are you, Marley?"

"Honestly? I've been better."

"I figured. I haven't heard from you in ages which sucks because I've definitely seen you enough since Sectionals."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just figured that you'd rather be with Artie and Tina since you've known them longer."

"Nope. You're one of the only new members that I can actually stand. I wouldn't mind spending time with you. Anyway, stop trying to distract me from why I called. Tell me what's going on."

Marley sighed. "I got suspended from glee for a week."

"What," Santana yelled through the phone. "How in the world did you manage that?"

"Mr. Schue put us into two groups, Gaga and Katy Perry. The Gaga's had to perform a Katy Perry song and vice versa."

"Let me guess," Santana cut her off, "You were a Katy."

"Haha," Marley said sarcastically. "Yes I was. There's a new show choir that is really good and they do all different styles of music. So Mr. Schue wanted us to go outside our comfort zone."

"Makes sense," Santana said thoughtfully.

"It does. But my group wanted me to wear a seashell bikini, and I just couldn't do it."

"Of course you couldn't. That's not you at all. And while I know you've gotten a pretty good handle on your bulimia you are still human. Insecurities don't just go away overnight. Hell, I still struggle with my image sometimes."

"Thank you! It's like they forgot that I have an eating disorder. I've been working real hard on changing the way I view myself, and I have gotten better. But it's still hard. And then everybody started yelling at me and he called me selfish and…"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down, Marley. Who called you selfish?"

"Mr. Schue. He said that if I couldn't get out of my comfort zone then we would lose Nationals. So he suspended me. I'm telling you, Santana, they all still blame me for ruining Sectionals."

The line was silent for a few seconds. "Santana? Are you still there?"

Santana exhaled a long breath. "Sorry. I just needed a moment to calm down before I exploded," she said before continuing in a soft yet firm voice. "You did not ruin Sectionals, Marley. And you definitely are not going to ruin Nationals."

"Yeah, I do know that but it just hurts that I got punished for standing up for myself."

"Did you know I got suspended from glee," Santana asked in a calm voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was the beginning of senior year. Quinn had gone crazy and quit the Cheerios. So Coach made me and Becky co-captains. She told me she did that because she didn't know where my loyalties lied. I had to prove to her that I was loyal to her and the Cheerios. So when Blaine, who had just transferred to McKinley, did his audition in the courtyard I had the Cheerios dance with him. They had gasoline tanks and poured it on one of the pianos there. At the end of the number Quinn threw her cigarette onto the piano and the whole thing burst into flames. I didn't actually tell Quinn to do it. The gasoline was just supposed to seep through the wood and damage the piano. But Mr. Schue thought I did it and he kicked me off the club just like that."

"So how did you get back on the club?"

"The musical that year was West Side Story. They needed a kick-ass Anita, and who better than a sassy Latina? I killed the part, so he had no choice but to bring me back."

"I never knew that." It seemed that Marley always found out something new about her mentor whenever they spoke.

"You and I have a lot in common, Marley. I'm so proud of you. You made a decision and stood by it. I know you must be bummed about getting suspended, but it's just a week. And it was worth it because your health, both mental and physical, is so much more important than a high school club."

A timid smile appeared on Marley's face at hearing that Santana was proud of her. "Thank you so much, Santana."

"Any time, sweetie. Anything else bothering you?"

Marley chuckled. "Is it that obvious?"

"No, I just have a really good psychic Mexican third eye."

"Ah, yes. How could I have forgotten about that."

"That's enough of the sarcasm for one day, missy. I talk to you for less than an hour and already you start acting like me," Santana joked.

"You're just a bad influence, Santana."

"Yeah, yeah. How's the boyfriend doing?"

"We got into an argument," Marley simply stated.

"Okay, I need some more details if I'm going to help you. What was this argument about?"

"We were making out and he kept trying to touch me and I'm just not ready for that. When I tried to tell him that he mentioned how before he dated me he could get into any girl's pants easily. So I yelled at him and told him to do that if he's desperate. He didn't say anything after that so I just left. The thing is that I don't trust him enough to not do it. I would hope he wouldn't but I don't want to be naive."

"Good, because if I am being completely honest I wouldn't trust him either. You've been with him for a while now and if he truly loved you he would neither pressure you nor sleep with anyone else. And if he can't do either of those things then you do not deserve him. You are such an intelligent, brave and strong person, Marley. I know that whatever happens you'll handle it as best as you can. And if you need help along the way I am just a phone call away."

Marley's eyes watered at Santana's words. "You really are the best mentor, Santana. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. So onto happier subjects, summer vacation is almost here. Got any plans?"

"Not really. I'm probably going to try and find a part-time job just for the summer."

"Well, if you aren't doing anything would you want to come visit me in New York? I finally convinced Kurt and Rachel to give me a section of the living room to partition off as my 'room' and it's big enough for the two of us. You're small enough. And if you want, maybe you could stay for a month or two. We all work at a diner. I could talk to the manager and get you a temporary position if you wanted. So what do you say?"

"Wait. Are you serious? Of course I want to go," Marley squealed. "I might not spend a month, but I would love to spend a few days. I've never been outside of Ohio before, let alone a huge city like New York. I'd love to go."

"Good. Talk to Momma Rose and let me know."

"I should start calling you more often."

Santana could practically see the grin on Marley's face. "I called you, actually," she said with a laugh. "Anyway, I need to get going. I have a date tonight."

"Ooh, a new girl," Marley asked.

"Actually, she's my girlfriend. Her name is Dani. We've been going out for almost two months now."

"That's really good, Santana. You needed to put yourself out there. It's been a long hard year for you and you deserve happiness, too."

"Well maybe you'll meet her if you visit over the summer."

"I can't wait. Good night, Santana. Have fun tonight."

"I will. Remember what I said. Stick to what makes you feel confident and don't let anyone bring you down."

Marley smiled as she hung up the phone, Santana's words loud in her mind. It never failed to surprise her how open Santana was with her. But she knew because of that quality Santana would always have her best interests in mind. With that thought she ran out of her room to find her mom and ask her about staying in New York for the summer.


End file.
